Carry on the Heritage
by TexasWatermelon
Summary: The last installment of my Army of Witches series. The Archers face their most dangerous and powerful enemy yet, and it turns out to be someone they thought they could trust. Can they pull themselves together to complete their destinies or will they fall?
1. The Whitelighter Trials Pt 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed or any of the characters present on the show. I also, technically and legally, don't own any of the characters I've made up or anything to do with this story. The Archers, their boyfriends and girlfriends, the O'Reillys, none of them are legally mine, nor are the phrases, quotes, or anything else in here, but I would greatly appreciate it if you would ask me before using my characters and/or quotes. Thanks!**

**I'd like to give a humungous thanks to Laur (The-Cheese-Fairy) who is my wonderful co-writer. If you haven't already, be sure to check out all of her stories as soon as you're done reading this.**

**Okay kiddies, I'm finally back! I know it took me forever, but it's done. I think I have carpal tunnel syndrome, but it was worth it. This is 30 (30!) pages long on Microsoft Word. Unfortunately, I've been informed that that's too much for one chapter, so this is going to be split up a bit. So, please read on and if you'd like a refresher as to who's who, let me know in your review (hint, hint)!**

**I'm sorry to say, but for those of you who thought this looked interesting and haven't read any of my other stuff, you're going to have to read Army of Witches and everything in between to understand what's going on. You don't have to read Cole's Revenge, Close Your Eyes, or Green Eyed Serpents. But everything else is all part of the series. So get reading!**

**So without further ado… Drumroll please… (Hey, where the hell are my drummers?) Nevermind! Please, let's just start the show!**

**Carry on the Heritage: The Next Generation of Halliwells**

**Chapter One: The Whitelighter Trials Part One**

"Do you understand all that I've just explained to you?"

"Do you understand that we're not retarded?"

The Elder Oden looked at his audience sternly, his mouth twitching in annoyance. They were just like their parents in every way, from looks to attitude and everything in between. What a shame.

"This is a serious matter. I don't think that smart remarks will help you any," he said. Patience Marie Halliwell rolled her ocean blue eyes and sighed, blowing a piece of her long, raven black hair out of them.

"Fine," she said. "We understand."

"Are you sure?" Oden asked, fixing his eyes on Patience's youngest cousin, Persephone Autum Halliwell. Sensing his gaze, Percy looked up from her newly manicured fingernails, which she had previously been inspecting.

"Yes," she said pointedly. Oden looked over at the two boys, Parker Wyatt Halliwell, who was staring fixedly at the glass table, and Preston Coleridge Halliwell, who had the hood up on his black sweatshirt and appeared to be sleeping.

"Good," he said, convinced that that was the best response he was going to get out of the four of them.

"Great! Can we go now?" Patience asked, standing up.

"No," Oden said dully. Patience groaned and plopped back down in her chair. "I have one more matter of business to discuss with you."

"Fine, but this time, let's not make it take all week, okay?" Percy said, tightening the dark brown ponytail that sat on the back of her head. Oden glared at her, feeling the blood red anger creeping up his neck, but resisted the urge to fly off on a tangent about how they should respect their elders. There were much more important things at hand.

"Very well. You might want to wake up the drooling dog first," he said, nodding at Preston. Percy sighed and nudged her cousin. Nothing.

"Preston, wake up," she said dully. Still no reply. Her chocolate brown eyes filled with annoyance and frustration as she pulled back and slammed her elbow into his ribcage.

"Ow!" Preston exclaimed, his dark brown curls falling into his coffee colored eyes. He glared daggers at his younger cousin as he blinked the tears of pain from his eyes. "What the hell was that for?"

"Shut up and pay attention so we can get the hell out of here," Patience ordered. Preston groaned loudly and eased back into his chair, rubbing his side in the process. Finally, Parker drew his light brown gaze up to look at Oden, pushing his messy brown hair out of his eyes.

"Now, the last order of business is assigning you a Whitelighter," Oden started.

"Why can't my dad or Uncle Leo do it?" Percy questioned immediately.

"Because they've got their own charges to attend to. You four must be assigned a Whitelighter who has no other charges so that their full attentions can be focused on you. The only problem with that is that you have not yet been anointed," Oden answered.

"Anointed? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Preston asked irritably.

"It means that you haven't formally accepted you destinies," Oden said.

"The hell we haven't!" Patience exclaimed. "We gave up scholarships for them!"

"You have _said_ that you accept them, but you have to _show_ that you accept them."

"Did you not just hear the 'giving up scholarships' part?" Percy asked.

"How are we supposed to 'show'? Parker asked.

"It is a series of tests; three trials that you must endure. If you make it through them, you will become anointed and receive you Whitelighter," Oden informed them.

"If we don't?" Percy asked, quirking an eyebrow. Oden frowned.

"If you don't, then you will not become fully anointed and therefore cannot receive your Whitelighter. We need to know that you are willing to fight as hard as necessary, if not harder for this. If you can't complete this simple task, then there is no chance that you will be able to defeat your foe in the final battle. This is why you must complete the trials," Oden said.

"What kind of trials?" Patience asked suspiciously.

"I cannot say. I can only tell you that the first task you will face, you will do it together. For the second, you will be in pairs and for the third you will be alone. When you've completed all three trials successfully, you will be met by your new Whitelighter and brought back here for the anointing ceremony," Oden said.

"When do we start?" Percy asked.

"Now." The cousins were blinded as a bright white light filled the room, creeping into every inch of it and blocking everything from sight. Before they could even realize what was happening, the four of them fell to the ground with a loud thud as the chairs and table disappeared out from under them. Percy yelped in surprise.

"Ugh! You could have at lease let us stand up!" Patience yelled, her eyes transforming from their ocean blue to a stormy color swirled with dark blue. "Asshole!" she exclaimed.

"Um, guys? Where did the door go?" Parker asked, looking very worried. His cousins turned their heads to look at the spot where the huge double doors once were.

"Screw this, I'm outta here," Preston said, forming into solid rock and disappearing. A few seconds later, the rock came crashing back in and broke into a million pieces before quickly gathering themselves back together and forming back into Preston.

"Well obviously that isn't working," Percy commented. Patience turned her head up angrily to the ceiling.

"Alright assholes! You want us to do these trials, then bring 'em on!" she demanded. Right on cue, four bodies entered the room, one in water form, one in tornado form, one in rock form, and one in fire form. The quickly turned into identical twins of the Archers standing across from them. Behind them appeared a glowing blue crystal.

"Who the hell are you?" Percy asked. None of them answered, they just stood there silently, looking unblinkingly back at her. "Okay then, my guess is that we have to get that crystal back there."

"Looks easy enough," Preston said, striding up to their silent twins.

"Um, Preston, I wouldn't do that if I were you…" Parker warned. Preston ignored him and came within a few inches of his twin.

"Hey, how's it going? Listen, I need to get to that crystal, so you need to move aside," he said. His twin didn't move, he just stared back at him. Preston tried going around him, but the twin moved in front of him. "Okay, maybe you didn't hear me the first time. Move."

"I'm pretty sure he heard you, Quake, but it's not gonna be that-" Before Percy could finish her sentence, Preston had launched a fist at his twin, only to have it blocked by that same fist that belonged to the twin. Preston yelled in frustration, the anger visibly creeping up his neck as the sound of knuckles cracking ricocheted off the walls.

"You bastard!" he yelled, forming a fireball in his hands.

"Preston, no!" Patience yelled. Preston's twin had also formed a fireball and was ready to launch it at him.

"They do exactly what we do. They're mirroring us," Parker realized. Preston whipped his head back in surprise. Then he looked back at his twin curiously. He extinguished his fireball, the twin doing the same.

"How the hell are we supposed to beat them if they know exactly what we're going to do?" Percy asked.

"I swear, I'm gonna kill the Elders when this is over!" Patience promised angrily.

"Oh, screw this!" Preston said, whipping around to face his twin and hurling a fireball at him.

"No!" Percy screamed. As the fireballs came within inches of the two Prestons' faces, both Parkers blew as hard as they could, causing the fireballs to blow into the opposite walls.

"Preston, what the hell were you thinking?" Patience questioned angrily. "You could have killed yourself!"

"So what, this is stupid! I don't want to be 'anointed'. I never asked for this!" Preston yelled.

"Hey guys," Parker said.

"None of us asked for this, Preston, but we got it so we might as well make the best of it. Getting yourself killed isn't going to solve anything," Patience shot.

"Guys," Parker repeated.

"Well I'm sick of this! I'm sick of the Elders and their shit! I just want to go home, go to college, get a job, get married to Leah. I'm tired of people telling us what we are and aren't allowed to do," Preston said.

"We're all sick of it! You don't see the rest of us trying to commit suicide, do you?" Percy asked.

"Guys!" Parker yelled.

"What?" the three of them yelled back, turning to face him.

"They don't talk," Parker pointed out. His cousins raised their eyebrows simultaneously as though he had just said something completely out of character. "They don't talk." They still looked clueless. "Haven't you noticed that no matter how much we say something, they don't ever say anything back or say the same things? They mirror all of our attacks, but not all of our moves. And if they don't talk, then they can't say spells or orb telekinetically." There was a collective 'oh' as what he was saying dawned on the others.

"So, if I just did this…" Percy said. "Crystal!" Without any effort, the blue crystal disappeared in a cloud of orbs and reappeared in her hand. As soon as it touched her skin, it glowed brilliantly and engulfed the room in a blinding white light again.

"That was eas-" Patience was cut off as they were transported away from their white room and away from the twins. The next thing she knew, she was landing hard on the ground again. She could tell by the sharp pain in her leg from the rock that she had landed on that she wasn't in the white room again. She groaned and rubbed the underside of her right leg, tossing the rock aside. That's when she looked around. She had to stifle a gasp as she took in her surroundings.

All around her, Patience was surrounded by full, thick, dark green hedges at least fifteen feet tall and about six feet apart. The hard dirt ground underneath her was covered in a light mist and she could barely see two feet in front of her through the thick fog, but she could tell that it was completely dark. Menacing looking twigs and vines stuck out at odd angles from the hedges, the sharp thorns very visible to the eye. A small grunt of pain brought Patience's blue-eyed gaze over to the crumpled form of Preston abruptly. She scrambled over to help him up as he roused himself from unconsciousness, having hit his head hard upon their arrival.

"Goddamn," he groaned, rubbing is head where a pesky lump had already formed.

"Are you alright?" Patience asked in concern.

"Yeah, just let me re-grow some of the brain cells I lost real quick. Where the hell are we?" he asked, looking around in confusion. Patience shook her head.

"I don't know, but I don't like it," she commented.

"Where are Tory and Fireball? Didn't they make it?" Preston questioned, suddenly becoming concerned.

"I'm pretty sure they made it somewhere, just not here. This is the second task. We're in pairs, remember," she pointed out.

"My powers don't work. Why don't my powers work?" Preston asked suddenly, trying fruitlessly to form a fireball in his hands. Patience also tried out one of her powers, but came up with the same result.

"Oh, this is brilliant! How the hell are we supposed to get out of here without our powers?" she yelled. Her question was lost in the deep silence of the hedges.

"_Patience? Patience? Can you hear me?"_ a panicked voice rang through Patience's mind.

"_Percy?"_ she thought.

"_Oh thank god! Squirt, I don't know what to do! Parker and I are in this place all alone and we tried to come find you guys, but we just kept ending up in the same spot and we don't have any powers and my wrist hurts really bad, I think I broke it,"_ Percy said frantically.

"A maze," Patience whispered aloud.

"What?" Preston asked.

"_Okay sweetie, just calm down. I think I know what we have to do. This place is a maze. We're probably on opposite ends. My guess is that we need to find our way to the middle and meet up there. We just don't have any active powers, which means that spells and potions are in. Alright, get Parker and fill him in and start using your heads. Do whatever you need to get to the center of this maze and if Preston and I aren't there, then wait for us. And most importantly, stay together. We don't want either of you getting lost," _Patience said.

"_Okay. Be careful."_ With that, the connection was broken.

xxxxx

"Did you get through?" Parker asked expectantly.

"Yeah. She said that this was a maze and we had to get to the middle using only spells and potions. No active powers. Do you know how much that royally sucks?" Percy said.

"Yeah, I know. But let's just do this. The faster we get through, the better we'll be," Parker reminded her.

"This better be one damn good Whitelighter for all of the work we have to go through for it! And I think my wrist is broken," Percy whined.

"Let me see," Parker said, concern crossing his face as he gently picked up Percy's right hand.

"Ow!" she gasped.

"Sorry. I don't think there's anything we can do about it though until we get our active powers back. You think you can deal?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Percy assured him with a nod. "Let's just try to think of how we're going to get to the middle of this."

"Well, let's try a spell. Maybe we can come up with some kind of spell that will point us in the right direction," Parker offered.

"Okay, um… point us to the center… of this maze that we have entered," Percy said. Parker raised his eyebrow. "What? It was pretty good for the two seconds it took to think up." Suddenly, the mist that covered the ground gathered itself into an arrow pointing straight. Percy smirked and gave an accomplished look to Parker, who rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, you're brilliant. Let's just follow it," he said.

"Wait! I can't see a thing. I need light," Percy said. Parker sighed and looked around. His eyes lit up as he noticed a purple flower sticking out of the hedges.

"I think I remember something from one of your mom's lessons," he said, walking over to the flower. "She said that almost anything can be used as a potion ingredient, you just have to know a little about the world around you. Thank god I was a nerd."

"Was?" Percy asked with a raised eyebrow and a mischievous smirk. Parker glared and picked the flower.

"This flower represents guidance," he said, showing it to her.

"Okay, that's nice, but unless it can guide us to a lantern it's not gonna do us any good," Percy commented. Parker put his finger up.

"Just wait," he said. Then he stooped down and grabbed some of the dirt underneath them. "The earth represents stability so it won't go out. Now all we need is… to make a potion is what we desire, so give us a cauldron and brewing pyre," he recited. A small cauldron appeared out of nowhere on the ground, suspended by nothing. Under it was a small blue fire.

"Wow, that was incredibly cool," Percy said in astonishment. Parker grinned and knelt down, throwing in the flower and dirt. Then he looked around curiously and grabbed a dead twig from the hedges, lit it with the fire, and tossed it in.

"A little fire for light and…" A glowing white orb floated out of the cauldron and illuminated the path around them. As it did, the cauldron and fire disappeared into thin air. "Voila!"

"Yay! I love you!" Percy said happily, gently pushing the orb in front of her with her good hand and letting it, along with her arrow of mist, lead the way. The two walked for a while before their arrow pointed them right and led them down anther path. They weren't even really paying attention anymore, they were too busy conversing about who their Whitelighter might be and how excited they were to move in to their new homes. When she had first bumped into it, Percy had thought that she was imagining things. Then she lifted her gaze from the rock hard foot seemingly made out of hardened magma, up the thick legs, hard cut abdomen, strong arms, ugly face, and finally, the rock hard spines on its head before she realized that she was actually standing in front of a demon. Her big brown eyes got huge as she looked into the evil, beady black eyes of the creature.

"Percy," Parker warned.

"Okay, this was so not in the bargain!"

xxxxx

"Patience, we've been walking around for ages and I'm pretty sure I've seen this rock at least a thousand times now. We're going in circles, Squirt," Preston complained as Patience led them down another dark pathway that looked exactly like the rest of them.

"Well I'm sorry, but it's not exactly like there are signs sticking up out of the ground that say 'This way to the middle of the maze'. It's a little hard to find your way around," Patience pointed out in annoyance.

"So let magic find our way around. Do a spell or something," Preston suggested.

"Why don't you do a spell? All of my spells suck and your mom was the spell writer of the family," Patience reminded him.

"That doesn't mean that I am! I can't rhyme," Preston said. Patience just glared at him. "Ugh, fine. Let's see… Guide us to the place we seek; to the center of this maze so deep; to meet our cousins and end this task; hurry up and make it fast."

"You're right, your spells suck," Patience confirmed with a grin. Preston glared at her, his cheeks pink from embarrassment. A small green light appeared from nowhere and circled around their heads, before zooming off in the direction they wanted to go. "Oh, guess that's our cue to follow." The two of them sprinted after it, following it down a twisting path.

"Okay, what is that?" Preston asked as the outline of a figure was shadowed into the darkness.

"I'm not sure, but we need to hurry or else we'll lose your little lightning bug," Patience panted. As they came closer, the outline of the figure became clearer until they were almost right in front of it and had to stop or else they would run into it. The light, however, was in no mood to wait and zoomed off past the figure and down a path, disappearing into the darkness. Now that the two could see the figure, they almost wished they couldn't. Standing before them, about seven feet tall was something that neither of them thought existed, but could not be mistaken for anything but what it was.

It was a sphinx. It had the body of a lion with huge paws, about the size of small boulders, each equipped with their own set of razor sharp claws. It's long, slender, muscular body led down to two powerful hind legs and a long, quick tail with a small tuft of brown fur at the end that was swishing back and forth restlessly. The head, however, was that of a woman, with large chestnut brown eyes and a petite nose. She blocked the whole path, preventing the two from getting past, but she didn't look hostile.

"You are very near your goal, but there are more troubles that lie ahead for both you and your cousins. The quickest way to the center is past me," she said in a soft, confident voice that sounded very Russian.

"Um, so, can we get past?" Preston asked hopefully.

"No," she said simply.

"I figured that was too easy."

"You must first answer my riddle. Answer correctly on your first guess and I let you pass. Answer wrong, I attack. Remain silent and I will let you walk away unscathed to face the more horrible dangers of this maze," she explained. Preston and Patience looked at each other in disbelief, but came to the silent agreement that if they couldn't put it together between the two of them, then there was something seriously wrong with both of their brains.

"Okay. What's the riddle?" Patience asked. The sphinx nodded and sat down on her hind legs in the middle of the path.

"_First think of the person who lives in disguise,_

_Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies._

_Next, tell me what's always the last thing to mend,_

_The middle of middle and end of the end?_

_And finally give me the sound often heard_

_During the search for a hard-to-find word._

_Now string them together and answer me this,_

_Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?"_

Patience and Preston shared a look again, this time of utter bewilderment. Patience turned to the sphinx and raised her eyebrow.

"Um, can I hear that one more time, a little more slowly?" she asked. The sphinx smiled and repeated it once more.

"So all of the answers add up to something we wouldn't want to kiss?" Preston asked. She nodded. "Well I can think of a few people already…"

"Preston!" Patience exclaimed. He grinned sheepishly. "A person in disguise who tells lies. The demon who posed as Brianna did that. An imposter?" The sphinx dug her claws into the ground, ready to attack.

"That's not her guess!" Preston said quickly. The sphinx smiled and relaxed. "Wait a sec… a spy!"

"That's it!" Patience exclaimed. "A spy." The sphinx nodded. "Okay. Next line. The last to mend… no clue. 'Middle of middle'… I don't know."

"Me either," Preston said. "What about the last part? 'The sound often heard during the search for a hard-to-find word. Er… what would that be… er…"

"Preston, stop mumbling. She's gonna attack just cause you're annoying," Patience said angrily.

"Oh, er, sorry," he said.

"Wait… say that again," Patience ordered.

"Sorry?" Preston said with a confused look.

"No! 'Er'. Er's a sound! That's it!" Patience exclaimed. They sphinx smiled and nodded again. "Okay, put it all together."

"Spy-er. Spy-er. A spyer? No! That's not my guess, that's not even a word," Preston reminded her.

"Spy-er… spider!" Patience yelled. The sphinx gave one last grin, bowed, and moved aside to let them through.

"Thanks!" Preston yelled behind him as they ran past and down another dark pathway that would eventually lead them to the center of the maze… hopefully. **(A/N: Many, many, many thanks to J.K. Rowling for that whole sphinx bit. I take no credit for the riddle, the answer, or the sphinx herself. I'm not that much of a genius ;)**

xxxxx

Parker soared backwards as a rock hard foot, probably equivalent to a size twenty-three shoe, slammed into his chest again, causing a sickening crack as some of his ribs broke. Percy was already down for the count, having been knocked out by a furious fist to the head a few minutes ago. Parker groaned and attempted to get back up, but fell backwards as a sharp pain where he had been kicked three times in a row rocketed through his body. He winced in pain and watched as the demon made his way toward Percy's unconscious form, an evil grin on his face. Parker gritted his teeth and slowly got up, stumbling a little as he walked towards the demon.

"Hey, Lava Head! Why don't you go find someone a little more your type. You might want to try big, stupid, and ugly," he taunted. The grin on the demon's face disappeared as he turned to Parker, a look of anger now replacing it. "Come on asshole, show me what you got!" The demon landed a hard hook to Parker's jaw, breaking some teeth and causing it to bleed. He hit him again and Parker fell to the ground. He grinned, showing his bloodstained teeth. "Is that all?"

Meanwhile, Percy was very slowly coming to. She could hear the deafening cracks of Parker's various bones that were being broken and she could hear Parker getting up again for more. But she knew that he wouldn't last much longer. She grabbed onto the darkness and pulled herself forward, slowly opening her eyes. She could just make out Parker being kicked again through the blur of her vision and groaned slightly. As she tried to pull herself up off the ground, she could now feel all of the pain rush to her body, particularly the construction site working overtime in her head to make it pound. She fought through it though, the need to help her cousin much greater than the need to give in to the pain. There would be time for that later.

Now that the demon's back was turned to her, Percy's eye caught something that she hadn't noticed before. In the center of the demon's back, right on his spine, there was a thin crack, about a foot long. It was the same glowing orange as the lava veins that covered the rest of his body. Even in her weakened mental state, she was able to put two and two together and get four, something that had taken her quite some time to understand in first grade.

Following her instincts, Percy reached into the crack and wrapped her hand around something hard and hot. She assumed it was his heart, made out of the same material that the rest of his body was. The demon was instantly paralyzed as he roared in pain. Through the pounding in her head that had now worsened due to the screaming, Percy kept hold of the heart and pulled it out, throwing it to the ground. The demon dropped to his knees, and his body cracked and crumbled as he died. Percy and Parker shared a look, both of them feeling the other's pain, then Percy helped Parker up and the two followed the arrow of mist and the orb of light that had waited patiently for them the whole time.

xxxxx

"Is this the middle?" Preston asked curiously as he and Patience finally emerged into a large opening in the maze where several openings could be found.

"I'm guessing, judging by the cute pink crystal over there. I think we should wait for Percy and Parker though, make sure they're alright. I'm kind of worried about them," Patience said.

"Yeah, me too. I wonder when they'll get here…" As if on cue, Percy emerged from one of the openings directly across from them, helping Parker through as well.

"Oh my god!" Patience whispered, she and Preston sprinting over to them. They looked like hell. Parker could barely walk, his jaw was bruised and his mouth was full of blood, plus it looked like he was having trouble breathing. Percy was holding her wrist funny and the black eye didn't make her look any better. She seemed to be fighting the urge to puke as well, though they weren't sure why. "What happened, you guys?"

"Demon," Parker replied hoarsely.

"You look like death. Maybe we should call this off, get the Elders to heal you guys. The way you look, you won't even live through the last task," Preston commented.

"No, let's just do this and get it over with," Percy said. Patience nodded and went over. She picked up the crystal and once again, a bright white light filled the maze, transporting them all to their separate locations.

**Okay guys, that was the first part. Second part is written and ready to go, so as soon as you review I'll be glad to get it up. Let us know how you like it! Til next time…**

**Aut**


	2. The Whitelighter Trials Pt 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed or any of the characters present on the show. I also, technically and legally, don't own any of the characters I've made up or anything to do with this story. The Archers, their boyfriends and girlfriends, the O'Reillys, none of them are legally mine, nor are the phrases, quotes, or anything else in here, but I would greatly appreciate it if you would ask me before using my characters and/or quotes. Thanks!**

**Okay guys, here's the next part of the first chapter. I know this sucks but… well, just read on, review as quickly as possible and I'll have the last part up as soon as you do.**

**Carry on the Heritage: The Next Generation of Halliwells**

**Chapter One: The Whitelighter Trials Part Two**

"I swear I'm gonna need a new ass by the time this is over and the Elders are paying," Patience mumbled after landing on her bottom for the third time that day. She stood up and realized that she was once again back in the white room, only this time she was alone. "Well if the third task is rest and relaxation, then I've got this one in the bag."

"If only it were that simple…"

Patience spun around to face the person to whom the voice belonged. She knew already who it was. She had heard the voice a million times over. And yet she couldn't help but be surprised when she met the crystal blue eyes with her own.

"Mom?" she asked curiously. Prue smiled.

"Although, I've got to admit you've inherited the Halliwell sense of humor well," she continued.

"What are you doing here?" Patience questioned, quickly becoming annoyed.

"I'm not your mom. She's down there somewhere, completely clueless as to what's going on up here. I'm just a messenger made to look and act like her," Prue explained.

"Wow, I guess the Elders really do want to make this hard, sticking me in a room alone with you," Patience commented.

"You know, now that you're older, it really is amazing how much you look like me. I mean, you've got the eyes, the hair, the mouth, the nose, even the cute little freckle there. But it goes deeper than that. You don't just look like me, you practically are me!"

"I am not you. I would never do some of the things you did," Patience said defensively. She had already forgotten that this wasn't really her mother. She didn't even care. If it looked like Prue and talked like Prue, it might as well be Prue.

"What have I done that's so bad? What have I done that you haven't already or won't someday? Nothing. I married my high school sweetheart. I killed hundreds of thousands of demons. And most importantly, I led the ones I loved into unknown danger knowing that they might die because as the oldest, that was my job," Prue said.

"I am not you!" Patience protested. "I'm different! I'm better."

"Really? How?" Prue asked, clearly enjoying this already.

"For one, I'm not a bitch," Patience said smugly.

"Wrong! Don't you remember trying to kill Piper? Don't you remember all of those horrible things you said to Kyle?"

"I was under a spell!"

"All spells need something to go off of; some initial starting point," Prue reminded her.

"Try genetics," Patience spat angrily.

"We have to be a little bitchy sometimes. We have to know how to be strong. We're the oldest," Prue said.

"Bullshit! You have to be a bitch because that's just who you are." Prue grinned evilly.

"Then what's your excuse?"

xxxxx

Parker groaned as his whole body slammed on the ground. He didn't feel as much pain as he had expected to though. As he lifted his head, he realized that they had healed his wounds during the two seconds that it took to transport him. He stood up and looked around the white room, happy to be out of the maze finally. He was disappointed, though to see that he had no companions this time.

"I guess this is the part where I'm all alone," he said.

"And now you know how it feels to be me," a voice said. Parker stopped immediately. He knew that voice. It had haunted him in his nightmares ever since Kelsey's death. Slowly, he raised his eyes to meet the owner of that voice and all of his nightmares came to life.

"Alex," he growled, his voice laden with hate heavier than a thousand tons of steel. Alex grinned.

"Huh, I can't believe you remember me. Must have made a damn good impression. Now what was it I could have done to make you remember that well? Hm… nope, I'm drawing a blank. Maybe you can refresh my memory," Alex said.

"You bastard!" Parker yelled, charging at Alex, who stood his ground with a knowing smirk. Parker meant to run straight into Alex, but instead he found himself running straight through him. He stumbled and caught himself on the wall.

"Sorry Dad," Alex said, turning around. "It doesn't work that way. You can't hurt what doesn't exist. And you made sure that I didn't exist."

"Go to hell."

"Already been there. Everyday of my life was hell. And then to top it off, you sent me there personally. Now that's love right there. But don't worry Dad, I'll save you a seat when I go back," Alex promised.

"You're sick," Parker seethed.

"Runs in the family," Alex shot back.

"No. I may of done some bad things in my time, but I never killed anyone," Parker pointed out.

"You killed me! Or doesn't that matter to you? You know, I always found it funny that as high as you hold family, your own son was the least important person in the world to you," Alex said.

"You're not my son," Parker said.

"Oh no? See for yourself…"

xxxxx

Preston looked around the big white room that he suddenly found himself back in. A minute ago he had been trying to see if Parker was okay, and then Patience had touched the pink crystal. Those stupid ass crystals that they had gone through so much trouble to get just to end up back here. What the hell was wrong with this situation? Something had to be up. His suspicions were confirmed as a familiar redhead appeared in front of him.

"Hello Preston," Heather said.

"Oh shit. I must be in hell. They made me think that we had actually made it through the maze, but we must have actually gotten killed by the sphinx and now I'm in hell," Preston said. Heather glared.

"This would be a decent punishment for you, Preston Halliwell," she said angrily.

"Yeah right! An eternity with you? I'd rather have my liver pecked out by crows everyday for the rest of my death," Preston taunted.

"You know, I think you could be a little nicer to me considering the fact that you let me die!" Heather exclaimed. Preston suddenly became serious.

"I didn't let you die. There was nothing I could do," he said.

"Right. That's why when the warlock blinked in all you could do was stare at him while he stabbed me! You probably wanted me to die. You never loved me anyways," Heather said dramatically.

"You're right, I didn't love you, but that doesn't mean that I wanted you dead. I tried to save you, but I didn't have enough time," Preston explained.

"Yeah Preston, you're so noble! You're a demon and everyone knows it," Heather spat.

"I'm not a demon! I'm half witch. I'm an Archer," Preston pointed out.

"No Preston, part of you, a big enough part, is demon. You'll never be fully good because you'll always have a little evil in you. They all know it. All of them but you, at least you won't admit it. I seem to be the only one sensible enough to say anything. You've got evil in you, Preston. Your dad has evil in him and his mother before him had evil. It runs in the family. I don't know why you're so oblivious to that fact," Heather said.

"I'm not oblivious! How do you even know that word? Your IQ is like, what? Ten?" Preston shot. Heather grinned.

"Cracking jokes at me to try to cover up the fact that I'm right isn't going to help. You don't seem to understand-"

"No, you don't understand! I am not evil damnit! I've never been evil. You're a mortal! What could you possibly know about magic? You don't understand demons or witches or anything," Preston said, cutting her off.

"I understand good and evil. I understand that demons are evil and I understand that since you're part demon, you're part evil. Come on Preston! You have to have thought about it before. Felt that part of you, the demon trying to claw its way out and do some damage. Everyone else has thought about it. Everyone else is afraid," Heather said.

"Bullshit. They're not afraid. They know me better than that," Preston said.

"Exactly. They do know you better, better than you know yourself. Which is why they're afraid that you might be evil. Your whole family was, some of them still are. Your parents are. They were so afraid that you'd come out wrong that they considered binding your powers to make sure that you were okay until you were old enough that you wouldn't be able to be turned evil," Heather informed him.

"You're lying. This is all a part of the game. Well guess what, I'm not playing," Preston said.

"It's not part of the game, Preston. It's the truth. Want to see?"

xxxxx

Percy gasped as she landed in the white room and, out of instinct, used her bad hand to brace the fall. She was surprised though when she felt no pain. She also noticed that her head wasn't pounding anymore. The Elders had done something good for once and healed her on the way. Thank god. As she looked around, she was kind of disappointed to see where she was. She was sick of this room. Nothing good ever happened here and it was because she had come here that she was in this situation in the first place. Sometimes she swore the Elders had to be evil somehow.

"So I guess I'm back where I started," she said to the empty room.

"Not exactly." At first, Percy had almost thought that she had said it. It was her voice, that was for sure. But when she turned around, she was no longer the only one in the room. Standing in front of her was an exact copy of herself… again. Percy rolled her eyes.

"Oh great, you again," she commented. Her twin ignored her.

"We're never exactly back where we started. The location may be the same, but everything else is different. The things in it are different. Different things have happened to them. The people in it are different. Sometimes the place itself is different. But most importantly, you're different. You're older, sometimes wiser. You've been through more since the last time you were there," she said.

"You know, I am so glad that you can talk now," Percy said sarcastically. Her twin smiled.

"I mean, the first time you were here today, there was a big glass table and you and your cousins were sitting here talking to Oden. Now you're a few hours older and two tasks down. All you need is one more and you're only a step away. Then again, that's all you've ever been is one step away," she said.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Percy asked with a frown, her arms folded across her chest.

"Well, I just mean that you always had it kind of easy," her twin said. Percy's eyes went big in disbelief and she scoffed.

"Excuse me?" she asked. "Easy?"

"Yeah. If you think about it, you haven't been through half as much as your cousins have. Look at Patience. She almost disappeared from existence! And after that she and Kyle broke up and she was possessed by a demon. Preston had to go back in time to save his father from death and he ended up losing his ex-girlfriend anyways. And Parker! Don't even get me started on him! He lost the love of his life for God's sake! But you… well, you really haven't been through all that much at all, have you?" her twin pointed out.

"What are you talking about? I've been through a lot! I almost went insane because I could hear the thoughts of the whole city. My graduation was sabotaged by demons!" Percy exclaimed. Her twin rolled her eyes.

"Stupid personal gain spells, boyfriend troubles and breaking a nail to get a diploma. Yeah, you've been through hell alright," she said.

"With the exception of Parker, my cousins haven't been through anything worse than I have," Percy protested.

"Oh no?" her twin asked. "Why don't we just take a look and see. Maybe then you won't be so sure."

xxxxx

Patience looked around the huge kitchen that she was in. All around her were beautiful appliances, all top of the line. The walls were a cheerful yellow that was accented by a deep blue tile on the counters. The cabinets were a deep cherry wood and in the center was a large island. Off to the side there was a huge round table with at least ten chairs placed around it. Only one of them was occupied though. She glared when she realized who it was.

"God, that was when I was young," Prue said from beside her. Patience turned to her.

"Great, you're still here," she said sarcastically.

"Of course I'm still here! I'm your guide. Now pay attention. This is important." The younger Prue, only about twenty-seven, sat there quietly, clearly in deep thought. A few minutes later, though, a young girl, about twenty or so with hard brown eyes and chestnut colored hair came in. Patience immediately recognized her as Tristan O'Reilly and it dawned on her that this must be the O'Reilly mansion. Prue's head snapped up at the sound of footsteps.

"Sorry," Tristan whispered, "I didn't mean to scare you."

"Oh that's okay. What's up?" Prue asked.

"Nothing really. I couldn't help but notice that you were a little stressed... and scared, and worried, and-" Tristan started.

"Okay, I get it," Prue cut her off.

"Well anyways, you have the highest running emotions of anyone in this house. I mean, Paige and Frisco are a little unbearable, but you're the only one who's really feeling the pressure of this. I kind of understand, though. I'm a big sister too and knowing that I'm about to lead my younger siblings into a battle that they may not come back from is scary as hell. I honestly don't want to do it, but I know I have to. It sucks feeling it for the both of us. It's hard to be a big sister. We have to be strong and make sure the others are safe. If it weren't for you, your sisters would be so much more worried than they are now. They would be freaking out like we are. I just wanted to let you know that you're not alone in what you feel. This nervousness is natural," Tristan said.

"Thanks. I feel better, though, you should know," Prue said. Tristan smiled.

"Come on, you can't lead an army to battle if you're exhausted," she said, helping Prue up. The scene dissipated and Patience and Prue returned back to the white room.

"What the hell was the significance of that?" Patience asked in annoyance.

"To show you that I went through the same thing that you're going through. I know what it's like to be in your position," Prue said.

"You know nothing about what it's like to be me," Patience argued.

"You're not fighting me here. Fighting me just means that you're fighting yourself," Prue told her.

"Whatever. Are you done now?" Patience asked. Prue shook her head.

"Not yet." The two were transported to the attic in the Halliwell/Wyatt manor. Patience wouldn't have recognized it had it not been for the Book of Shadows on the pedestal in the center of the room. Standing there looking through it was again Prue. This time she looked to be only about twenty-four. She was flipping through the book slowly, stopping to read almost every page. Her eyes were red from exhaustion and she looked worried. Patience let her guard down for a second, watching her mother. She had never seen her like this, vulnerable.

"What's she doing?" she asked quietly.

"She's reading the Book of Shadows. Read the whole thing that night. It was the night after she and her sisters got their powers. They had just found Paige and she was worried about them all. If the three of them knew how many sleepless nights she spent thinking about how to keep them safe…" the older Prue trailed off. Once again, the scene disappeared and the two found themselves in the white room again. Patience shook her head.

"Making me feel sympathy for her isn't going to make me feel sympathy for you. She was different," she said angrily.

"Sure she was different. She was young, inexperienced, weak. You didn't know her and even if you did you would still hate her because you would realize that you are exactly like her, just like you are exactly like me. Everything you hate about me is everything that you hate about yourself, Patience. As soon as you realize that, your life will be ten times easier. Now, where were we? Oh yeah! Your cousins," Prue said.

"You leave them out of this," Patience demanded.

"It's too late for that. They're already in it. They were in it before they were even born, before any of you were. You all were. See, the only difference between you and that woman sitting in the O'Reilly's kitchen, that woman flipping through the Book of Shadows is age. You're the same person. You've got the same worries. Think about it. You're going to be leading your cousins into the biggest war in the history of magic. They might die! Each and every one of them. You might die. And if that happens, the world is screwed! You know it. They know it. And yet you're the only one who seems to be feeling the pressure of it all. Why? Because you're the oldest. Because you're the only one strong enough to handle it all. Because you're the only one bitchy enough to take it," Prue said.

"I am not a bitch!" Patience yelled.

"You are. You're a bitch just as much as I am. Don't believe me? Watch."

They appeared in a hospital room. This time there was no Prue. There was Patience and Kyle. Patience knew immediately what this was. She remembered it well. But it was odd to see it from an outsider's point of view; to go through it again without the anger and evil coursing through her body. It made it worse. The silence was horrible and the bleak walls of the hospital room had done nothing to improve her mood. But none of that mattered once the talking started.

"Is there something you want?" Patience finally asked.

"Just to make sure you were okay… and to ask you why you wanted me in the ambulance, why you called me your boyfriend," Kyle said.

"Because I was hurting and the pain was fogging my head," Patience responded quickly.

"Oh. So you don't want to get back together?" Kyle asked. Patience laughed cruelly.

"Just because I have a broken arm, doesn't mean I need a big strong football player boyfriend to protect me. I'm fine single thanks," she said coldly. The pain and disappointment in Kyle's eyes was evident, but the anger was worse.

"You know, I don't know what your problem is lately, but I hope I didn't cause it. As far as I know, I didn't do shit to you. In fact, we were doing pretty good. Then, after we made out, you flipped and everything went to hell from there. It's not like we haven't kissed before, Patience," he pointed out.

"It's not that," Patience said angrily.

"Then what is it?"

"It's that I'm sick of you, okay? It's that I don't want to be near you. I don't want to see you, hear you, or ever hear your name again! Now get out!" Patience yelled. The anger was almost visible now, coming off of her in waves. The real Patience remembered sadly what it was like to feel that anger, to feel the athame form in her hand. Kyle just stared at the past Patience in disbelief.

"Okay," he said quietly, and with that he walked out. Patience and Prue didn't go back to the white room this time. Instead, they found themselves once again in the Halliwell/Wyatt manor, this time in the living room. Again, Patience knew instantly what was happening. Her past self was sitting on the couch while the rest of the family filled in around her. It was the intervention. She watched as she and Piper said horrible things to each other before they knocked her out. Then she had to watch as she woke up and cut herself from her bonds with an athame and tried to kill Piper. Tears formed in her eyes as she remembered this. She felt guilty. But as she and Prue returned to the white room again, all she felt was anger.

"You bitch, that doesn't count. I was under a spell!" Patience seethed.

"And again I remind you that all spells need something to go off of. You wouldn't have been such a bitch if you weren't already one to begin with," Prue said.

"Is the point of all this to show me that I'm a bitch? Is that what this is about because all it's really doing is showing me why I can't stand you," Patience said.

"No, the point of this is to show you that you're not bitch enough. The whole time we've been here you've been fighting me, denying everything that I say. If you can't lead, if you can't embrace that bitchiness, then you and your cousins will die," Prue warned. Without warning, the two were whisked away to an area that was completely flat and gray. All around them demons and soldiers battled each other. Screams of pain and death could be heard, flashes of energy and fireballs lit the sky. Bodies littered the ground. And amongst all of the chaos, four figures stood out in full color. It was the Archers. They were older. They looked fierce and ready to lead, but their soldiers were being decimated by the demons and they knew it. Still they fought on.

"What is this?" Patience asked.

"This is the battle that's to come. This is what you will lead your cousins into. Look at them! They're all dying and there's barely a dent in the demonic side," Prue pointed out. A particular energy ball caught Patience's eye as it headed straight for Parker. Before he could move out of the way, it collided with his chest, sending him crashing to the ground.

"Parker, no!" Patience yelled, trying to run to him, but she was rooted to her spot. The others were too busy to notice what had happened and after a few gasps of breath, Parker was dead.

"He didn't even fight. He felt there was no reason to. Kelsey's dead. Why should he fight?" Prue asked. Hot tears leaked down Patience's face as she looked at her dead cousin, a sight that she never wanted to see. All around him, the battle raged on. "How do you know that you've helped them enough? Obviously you didn't help Parker because he's dead. If only you'd taken a little more time to help him deal with the loss of Kelsey, maybe he'd have had a little more reason to fight." Patience shook her head.

"No. I helped. I-I talked to him. I tried. He didn't want to talk and he just got mad and stuff," she stammered.

"How hard did you really try? You sent Preston to do the job. One cousin does not the Archers make, Patience. Did you really think that just having one of you talk to him would help? Sure it made him feel a little better, but come on! How would you feel if you lost Kyle the way he lost Kelsey?" Prue asked. Patience said nothing as she watched on, trying to hold the tears back. She couldn't let this break her.

She watched as she and her cousins fought on with little success. More and more of their soldiers were dying with almost no progress to show on the demon side. The screams seemed to grow louder, pressing in on her as she tried to block them out. She directed her attention to Preston, who was fighting as hard as he could, launching fireballs left and right. As he turned his attention to one demon, another came up behind him and grabbed onto his head firmly. Preston's eyes went wide and even through the deafening noise of the battle, the sickening crack of his neck snapping could be heard far and wide. His eyes still open in fear, Preston Halliwell fell to the ground dead. Patience let out a sob, squeezing her eyes shut tight as the tears spilled out of them.

"No, no, no, no, no, you cannot just turn your head away from this. These are your cousins and they're dying around you one by one. Look at yourself! You're not even giving a two second glance to their dead bodies. Two of them are dead now, two! You have yet to even notice. Preston fought with anger. Maybe if you had taught him a little better, maybe if you had shown him how to keep his head in battle he would have lasted just a little bit longer," Prue scolded. Patience shook her head, her eyes still closed. "The battle's not over yet sweetie. We've still got the rest of the show to watch."

Reluctantly, Patience opened her eyes. As if finally sensing that something was wrong, Percy's head snapped up and she looked over to both Preston and Parker's dead bodies. She screamed for them and the horrible feeling in Patience's gut told her what was going to happen next. Her youngest cousin got a glint in her eye, a glint of revenge. She turned around furiously and charged at the nearest demon, lighting her hand on fire and pushing it straight through him with ease. Without even stopping, she moved to the next demon. This time she wasn't so lucky. As she lunged for him, he brought out a long sword and ran it through her. The screams of both Patience and Percy combined were deafening and resounded throughout the whole battlefield. It almost seemed as if the battle came to a halt as future Patience finally looked up, her eyes filled with tears.

"And Percy… So young, so naïve. If only you would have warned her not to fight with revenge, it could have saved her life. If only you would have spent a little more time on all of your cousins instead of worrying about yourself you could have saved them all. Now they're all dead and it's all your fault," Prue taunted. Patience fell to her knees, head in hands and sobbing. Suddenly the noise stopped. The battle was no longer going on. But when she finally looked up, she wasn't in the white room like she had expected. Instead she was in complete darkness. All around her she could just barely make out the faces of her cousins, her aunts and uncles, her parents, Jeff, Kyle, Leah, Atli, and Kelsey. They closed in around her and started a chant. It was soft at first, barely audible, but Patience could hear every word.

"It's all your fault," they chanted over and over again. Patience shook her head.

"No," she whispered. Slowly the chanting grew louder until it was almost a deep roar. Patience's eyes flew about, resting on each of the faces, hauntingly white and ghastly. Their eyes bore into her, scrutinizing every inch as they chanted louder and louder. "No. No, no, no. NO!" Then it all stopped. Patience looked up again, coming face to face with her future self.

"It's all my fault," she whispered.

"No!" Patience screamed. "I'm doing my best! I've done all I can! IT'S NOT MY FAULT!"

xxxxx

Parker looked around in confusion. He had been yelling at Alex and then suddenly he was in a strange place. It was definitely a strip club. There was no doubt about it. The black walls were accented by blue and pink neon signs and there were girls dressed very provocatively everywhere. But what caught his attention the most was a man sitting at the bar, his back turned to the commotion of the club. He was the only one not paying attention to all the girls. He was simply drinking his beer, clearly in thought. The man did, however, turn his head just far enough so that Parker could see who it was and the realization caused him to gasp. It was him. It was Parker sitting at the bar. He looked a little worse for wear and definitely depressed about something. Parker looked at his future self, confused about why he was here.

"You and Kelsey had just had a fight. I don't know what it was about. I really don't care, actually," Alex said, coming up beside him.

"Get the hell away from me," Parker growled, his eyes still fixed on future Parker.

"Sorry Dad, no can do. You're stuck with me, unfortunately," Alex replied. "Oh look, this is where it gets good."

Now Parker's attention was brought to one of the girls, a very pretty one with long, dirty blonde hair and pale skin. She was dressed in a small, lacy corset with knee-high leather boots. She walked up to Parker and put a hand on his right shoulder, slowly sliding it down his front. Parker stayed still as she drug it back up and then swung his seat around so that he faced her. She straddled his hips and ran her finger across his lips before leaning in and placing a smoldering kiss on them. Present day Parker cringed in disgust as he watched his future self just give in to this. He was obviously very drunk. His eyes were bloodshot and cheeks were red. The girl grabbed his hand and pulled him up, leading him into a back room.

"Pretty, isn't she?" Alex asked with a smirk. "The most beautiful one in here. And you didn't give a damn. All you cared about was getting a piece of ass for the night. That kept you satisfied."

"Shut up!" Parker yelled angrily, turning to Alex. "This is made up. I would never, ever cheat on Kelsey."

"Well you did. This isn't made up, you arrogant asshole. You can just get off of your high horse right now because this all happened and eventually you're gonna have to own up to it," Alex shot back angrily. The two of them were suddenly transported to a bathroom where the same girl was looking down worriedly at something. Parker looked at the reflection in the mirror to see that it was a pregnancy test. Tears streaked down her face as she threw it angrily in the trashcan and sat on the toilet seat, sobbing. As he glanced down into the trashcan, Parker could see the pregnancy test that read 'Pregnant' in blue letters. His eyes went wide as he looked back up at the girl who was still crying at the news.

Before he had time to process this information, he and Alex were transported again to a new location. This time they were in a hospital, obviously about nine months later. The girl was lying on the bed, screaming as doctors and nurses rushed around her telling her to breathe and push. Parker turned his head, unable to witness the agony that she was going through. He turned to look again though as he heard the sound of crying. What he saw was a baby boy, still covered with the maternal fluids. He had the raspy cough that all newborn babies had, but what Parker noticed was the little tuft of thick brown hair perched atop his head. He was handed to his mother, who was lying back in an exhausted sweat.

"Do you know what you want to name him?" the nurse asked gently. The girl looked up at her.

"Alexander. His dad looked like an Alexander," she said hoarsely. Parker looked at the two of them in horror. She had named him after what she thought was Parker's name. Alex was supposed to be named after him. Once again, without having really processed the information, Parker and Alex were taken somewhere. This time they went back to the strip club. The door of the club opened and Alex's mother looked up hopefully. Parker guessed that she probably did that every time the door to the club opened and he felt sorry for her. But this time her wish was granted as Parker walked into the club for the first time since Alex's birth. The girl ran over to him and grabbed his hand, leading him to the back again. She told him to wait there while she went inside quickly. Parker watched himself carefully as they all waited for the girl to return. Only a few seconds later, she did. In her arms was a bundle and she handed it to the future Parker, her eyes wide and hopeful. Future Parker looked at her in confusion, but as he looked at what was in the bundle, his eyes darkened in realization. He thrust the baby back to his mother and backed away slowly, shaking his head.

"That is not my child," he said gruffly.

"Yes it is! You were the last one before… it has to be you," she said sadly. Future Parker glared at her with disgust.

"If you come near me again, I'll kill you both," he threatened. Parker looked at himself in disbelief as his future self stormed out the door, leaving the girl in tears holding a now crying Alex. And with that the trip was over. Parker fought to hold his balance as he and Alex were brought back to the white room abruptly. He brought his gaze up to meet Alex slowly, looking into his son's dark brown eyes filled with so much anger and hate, yet streaked with an immense pain that almost matched his own. And for the first time since they had met, for the first time since Alex had killed Kelsey, Parker felt sorry for him.

"So, what have you got to say for yourself now?" Alex asked angrily, very obviously trying to fight back tears.

"I'm sorry," Parker whispered.

"What?" Alex snapped.

"I'm sorry," Parker repeated.

"Sorry," Alex said, a quiet rage building in his voice. "You're sorry? After all you've said, all you've done, the only thing you can say is sorry?" Parker winced as Alex's voice boomed throughout the room. He deserved it. Whatever this boy had to say, he deserved it. "You should be begging me for forgiveness! You should be on your knees with shame! You don't deserve to be alive! You're scum!" Parker fought back the tears that were stinging his eyes. He deserved it. "I can't believe that you can sit there and watch all of that and then just hang your head and say you're _sorry_! You disgust me!" The walls were practically shaking from the volume of Alex's voice now as he screamed, his face a shade of red that Parker had never seen before. And he deserved it. "Look at her! Look at her!" Alex ordered, pointing to his left. Parker looked, seeing the blonde girl that he had given a child to. Her face was streaked with tears and she looked as if she might die if only death would take her. "There wasn't a single day of her life when she didn't cry for you, wishing that you would have helped, wishing that her son had a father that cared!" Parker stared at her, the tears breaking their barrier now as her blue eyes drilled into his own with a pain and sadness unlike any other. "And Kelsey, what about her? You lied to her for all of my life. You cheated on her and then you lied to her, acting like nothing ever happened. You hid your son from her all that time and because of that, she ended up dying for you!"

"I'm sorry!" Parker sobbed, falling to his knees. "I'm sorry for cheating on Kelsey, I'm sorry for being such an asshole, I'm sorry for leaving you and your mom to fend for yourselves, I'm sorry for being the reason that Kelsey died, I'm sorry for everything!"

"Sorry just doesn't cut it this time, Dad. You ruined the lives of everyone important to you or everyone who should have been important to you. You screwed up. You should have been the one to die, and yet you're still here!" Alex yelled, his gaze fixed maliciously on Parker. "Everything that happened, it's all your fault!" Parker sobbed on the floor, unable to respond with anything else. "Look at you! All this pain you caused and _you're_ the one crying? You saw what you did! You shouldn't be crying, you should be groveling for all that you've done!"

"It wasn't me!" Parker screamed. Alex fell silent as his father's screams echoed around the room. "It wasn't me who cheated on Kelsey, it was someone else! I'm different! It wasn't my fault!" Father and son locked eyes for what seemed like an eternity and with one last look of pain and disgust, Alex vanished from sight.

**Alright guys, like I said, review quickly and well get this last part up ASAP. Tell me what you think!**

**Aut**


	3. The Whitelighter Trials Pt 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed or any of the characters present on the show. I also, technically and legally, don't own any of the characters I've made up or anything to do with this story. The Archers, their boyfriends and girlfriends, the O'Reillys, none of them are legally mine, nor are the phrases, quotes, or anything else in here, but I would greatly appreciate it if you would ask me before using my characters and/or quotes. Thanks!**

**Here we go, last part of the first chapter! I hope you guys like this whole thing. You're going to hate me when you're done, but I promise the next chapter will be quite a relief… sort of (mwa ha ha ha!)**

**Carry on the Heritage: The Next Generation of Halliwells**

**Chatper One: The Whitelighter Trials Part Three**

Preston looked around the room that he was in. It looked an awful lot like Parker's room, but it was different. There were pink flowery designs on the sheets and bed spread and makeup and perfumes on the vanity. Since when did Parker have a vanity? They were definitely in Parker's house though. Preston was seriously confused now. The last thing he knew was that he was in the white room with a bitching Heather telling him stupid stuff about how his family was afraid of him and now he was here. Before he had time to contemplate it any further though, he had to jump behind the vanity to hide from the person that was entering the room. He looked up in surprise when he saw it was his mother, clearly pregnant, followed by Cole who was helping her in the room.

"They can't see you," a voice said from beside him. Preston jumped.

"Damn, I thought I'd been lucky enough to lose you back in the white room," he sighed when he saw it was Heather again. She rolled her eyes, clearly fighting the urge to lash him with her tongue again, and walked out from behind the vanity. Seeing that it was safe, Preston walked out as well to get a better look at his parents. They looked younger, though that would be expected. This had to be while Phoebe was pregnant with him, about eighteen years ago. They really didn't look that different, though. A few less grays, but that was about it. Preston watched as Cole helped Phoebe onto the bed and then walked around the other side and sat down next to her. They both looked at her bulging stomach with two different expressions. Cole's was one of pride and happiness. Phoebe's was one of worry.

"What's wrong?" Cole asked, looking at the lines of worry etched across her face. She shook her head.

"I'm just a little worried I guess," she said.

"Why?" Cole asked in confusion. "Is it because of the demons?"

"Kind of," Phoebe replied.

"Well he'll be fine. All the kids will. We'll be here to protect them," Cole assured her.

"I know that. I'm more worried about having to protect them from _him_," Phoebe said, looking up at Cole.

"The baby? Preston?" he asked in bewilderment. Phoebe nodded.

"He's half demon, sweetie. He's got evil in him. It took you a hundred years to be able to suppress Belthazor. He's only gonna be a baby. How do we know he's gonna have the same strength?" she asked.

"Well… I mean, you don't think… he's not gonna," Cole stuttered, at a loss for words. He really didn't have a way to reassure Phoebe on this one. "I guess there's really no way to be sure."

"No there's not," Phoebe said sadly. Cole sighed.

"We could bind his powers maybe. Just until he was old enough that he couldn't be swayed by evil. It's the only way to prevent him from using them to do evil things. Every demon in the world will be after him if they know he's got his powers. It just takes one to take him away from us and turn him evil. At least if he doesn't have his powers he can't do evil," he said, clearly trying to convince himself that it would be the best thing for his son.

"We won't let any demons get him, sweetie. But maybe you're right. Maybe we should bind them just to be safe," Phoebe suggested. Cole nodded and kissed her. Preston stared on in disbelief as the scene faded away and he was brought back to the white room. He turned angrily to Heather.

"Do you think I'm stupid enough to fall for that? That didn't really happen," he said defiantly.

"Oh come on Preston! Did you think they'd put every single detail in that little book they made for you guys? They weren't going to tell you everything! Of course that happened! I can't make stuff up, here! I can only show you what's happened and what's possible to come. I know I'm good, but I'm not that good," Heather said smugly.

"Could you contemplate getting over yourself for one second?" Preston exploded. "If you've got something good to show me, then do it, but don't just stand here and act like you're the greatest human being to ever live because you're not. Greater people than you have died and for nobler causes."

"Like who?" Heather asked angrily.

"Like Kelsey! Like Frisco's sister and parents!" Preston said. Heather glared.

"So, because they died for a more 'noble cause', they're deaths were more important than mine? Because they weren't self-centered bitches they're deaths matter more? Contrary to your beliefs, Preston, people did love me. I did matter to some people. There were people who were actually sad that I died, people that weren't just using me to get back at an ex!" she exclaimed, tears forming in her eyes. Preston sighed.

"That's not what I meant. I just meant-"

"You meant that because you didn't care about me, my life just didn't matter," Heather finished for him.

"No! That's not what I said!" Preston protested.

"You don't have to say it to mean it, Preston, just like you don't have to mean it to say it," Heather pointed out.

"Well it's not like you ever meant half of what you said," Preston retorted.

"True, but it's too late for me to make up for that. You still have time to make up for your screw-ups. The question is, can you compensate for the screw-ups that your demon half has made or is going to make?" Heather asked.

"Oh Jesus, not this again," Preston groaned.

"Yes this! It's why we're here. How do you know that the demon in you didn't want me to die? You don't. Your human half won't let you even think about it. But that demon is in you and he likes to come out and play every once in a while," Heather said. The two were suddenly taken to a place that Preston never wanted to see again. Standing the halls of San Francisco Valley High, they watched as the next scene unfolded in front of them.

"And did it ever occur to you that he might have just forgotten himself for a second and flipped out?" Preston was saying to his cousins as they walked down the hall. "Not everything in our lives is demonically related." He remembered this. It wasn't all that long ago, actually. It was almost a year ago when someone was drugging his father to make Belthazor come out and destroy the Charmed ones.

"It is when the person in question is a demon," Patience pointed out.

"Belthazor hasn't been a problem for years, since before we were even born," Preston said defensively. Preston and Heather had to walk beside them to be able to hear the conversation, even though both of them already knew what was going to be said.

"No, but he is one of the most powerful demons out there. All he needs is one little hole in your dad's control and he's out and there's no telling what he'll do then. I'm not saying it's definitely that; it could have just been him flipping out for a second, but we need to be on guard just in case. While everything in our lives isn't demonically related, it is always magically related." Patience's words of caution hit the bottom of Preston's stomach like a twenty-ton rock sinking in water. Now that he was looking into her eyes, he saw something there. It was the faintest flicker of worry, not for his father, but for him. She was talking about Preston too. As quickly as the flashback had started, it disappeared again, but this time he and Heather found themselves in another situation.

They appeared in Cole's office at the law firm, only there was no Cole. Instead there was Preston again, along with Phoebe, Piper, Prue, Paige, Patience, Percy, Parker, and Julie, Cole's evil secretary. Piper had frozen Julie in mid attack and now she unfroze her head.

"What did you do to me?" Julie asked.

"I froze you. Now, you're going to have to answer a few questions for us," Piper replied smugly.

"What did you do to Cole?" Phoebe questioned immediately. Julie threw her an evil smirk.

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," she said. Preston watched as his past self emitted a low growl and rushed over, wrapping his hand around her throat and thrusting her into a wall and consequentially wearing off the freeze.

"You're going to tell me what you did to my dad, or I'm going to kill you slowly and painfully," he threatened. Julie gave in instantly, her fear overcoming her confidence.

"It's an anger potion. It brings out the inner demon in people," she gasped.

"How do we fix it?" Phoebe asked. Now that he was in a different position and the adrenalin wasn't rushing through his head, he could note the worry and familiarity in her voice. Whatever he was doing, it was reminding her of something. Julie hesitated to answer, knowing that what she was going to say would only cause her more pain.

"Answer her," Preston demanded, tightening his grip on her throat and crushing her windpipes.

"You… can't! Has… to… be vanquished," she choked.

"Bullshit!" Preston exclaimed.

"I swear," Julie breathed. Preston growled once more, backing down. Julie put a hand to her red throat immediately, but Preston showed no mercy and turned around instantly to vanquish her with a fireball. Once again, Preston felt himself being pulled back away from the scene and into the white room.

"What was that for?" he asked angrily. "Why did you take me there?"

"To remind you of what you come from. What Patience said about your father not only applies to him, but to you as well. Your demon may not have actually taken a physical form, but that doesn't mean he's not in there. You saw what you did to that girl. Just a little bit of anger and you flipped," Heather said. Preston's face reddened with anger.

"Are you kidding me? You're telling me that I'm evil because I hurt a _demon_! What are you, a demon's rights activist? She was trying to get my father to **kill** us! Do you not understand that it's my job, my destiny to do this? Are you that incredibly stupid that you need me to lay it all out for you? I am an _Archer_. I am on the side of _good_. As far as I know, that means it's my job to _kill demons_," Preston explained slowly.

"I understand that fully well, Preston," Heather said calmly. "Believe it or not, I was not a passenger on the short bus. I'm not saying that it was wrong for you to kill her. But you saw your reaction. You turned into a monster. And you heard your mom's voice. You reminded her of someone. You reminded her of Cole in the early days, when Belthazor was near the surface. She was scared for you."

"She wasn't scared," Preston said, pushing the doubts that were creeping to the front of his mind back again.

"Suit yourself. I guess we'll have to take another trip to get the point across," Heather said. They appeared outside somewhere. Preston instantly recognized the place as his own backyard, the old willow tree as calm and proud as ever. Under that tree, partly masked by the low hanging branches that swayed out of the way every once in a while due to the light breeze, Preston saw a child. He was no older than five, his dark curly hair messy and his Thomas the Tank Engine toys scattered around him. It was Preston himself. He had played under the willow tree in this backyard for hours while awaiting his cousins' arrival or just to be out of the way while some demonic crisis was happening inside the house.

Preston ducked under the tree branches and slowly walked over to his younger self. It was so strange to see this, to see how young he was. He would never be that young again, never be that innocent. Especially not since he and Leah had slept together. But that was beside the point. Presently, three other children were running out towards him, giggling and yelling as they dove under the tree. Little Preston looked up, a big grin on his face as Patience, Parker, and Percy settled in next to her, each with a toy in hand. Patience, with her long black hair in a ponytail and a little pink sundress on, had brought a Barbie. Parker set down his Green Goblin figure to push his tiny little glasses up his nose as they slowly slid down. Last, but not least, was Percy in a frilly green skirt with a little white tee. She cheerfully sat down with her Ken doll, adequately dressed only in jeans so as to show off his genuine molded plastic abs.

The four of them started to play with their toys, Parker having the Green Goblin tie Barbie down in front of an oncoming Thomas with a tiny maniacal laugh. Preston cracked a smile at this because he just couldn't picture Parker ever getting that laugh down pat. Then Percy had Ken fly in and save Barbie from the goblin just before Thomas smashed her into smithereens. It was the perfect moment. But like all good things, the fleeting moment of innocence was soon ruined as a warlock shimmered in. The kids looked up, their eyes wide in fear, but in true Halliwell fashion, those eyes hardened with determination and they stood up, ready to fight. Percy, ever the gun jumper, made the first move by launching a fireball at the warlock's legs. He stumbled back, his irritation clear.

"Do you think that puny little children like yourselves will be able to defeat me?" he asked angrily. Percy answered with another fireball. Archer or not though, her small body wasn't able to produce enough power to vanquish him yet, only piss him off. The warlock yelled with anger, immediately launching his own fireball at Percy. Just inches away from Percy's face, the fireball was extinguished by a stream of water, leaving a very relieved Percy and a very triumphant Patience.

"Stay away from my cousins," she ordered, her small demanding voice as powerful as ever. The warlock let out a laugh.

"You don't scare me, witch!" he declared, forming another fireball. This time Parker stepped in, blowing it out with a gust of wind before it even left the warlock's hand.

"Preston, help me kill him!" Percy called, turning to her cousin. Preston stayed still though, his eyes staring at the warlock as though he were frozen in fear.

"Yes Preston, help me kill them," the warlock said with an evil grin. Preston formed his own fireball, throwing it directly at Percy.

"Preston, no!" Patience yelled.

"Mom!" Percy screamed at the top of her lungs. Once again, just before it hit her, the fireball disappeared from in front of Percy, but this time in a cloud of orbs. It was redirected at the warlock and followed by two orb balls. With an angry cry, the warlock burst into flames. Preston stared on in shock. He felt himself being pulled away and grabbed at the air, desperately wanting an explanation for this, wanting to see what happened next. It was no use though, and he soon found himself back in the white room.

"What was that?" he asked in frustration, turning to Heather.

"It was a memory, a flashback. Paige was pissed that you tried to kill her daughter. She wanted your mom and dad to bind your powers immediately. They were close to it, too. Had it not been for the fact that they were afraid that you'd be vulnerable, they would have. That wasn't the last time they considered it, either," Heather explained.

"Why did I try to kill her? Why didn't I help? He must have had mind control," Preston declared.

"No mind control," Heather said calmly. "He was just your average, everyday warlock. You obeyed him because you wanted to. You were susceptible to evil then. You felt it calling to you, pulling you in. You still do. Things only ever happen because you're susceptible to them. The warlock, the Wendigo… both of them happened because you were susceptible."

"I am not susceptible to evil!" Preston yelled.

"Yes you are. I can give you hundreds of examples, Preston, but it just so happens that I don't feel like being here all day. Just admit it. You are evil," Heather said, her aquamarine eyes boring into his with determination. Preston felt the anger rising up like bile in his throat. With one swift movement he was across the room with Heather slammed up against the wall, his hand grasped tightly around her neck.

"I am not evil," he growled, his voice so low that it was barely audible. Heather shook off her shock and glared at him.

"You would have liked it to end this way, wouldn't you? Instead of that demon gutting me like a fish, you would have rather taken me out just like this with your hand around my throat so you could squeeze the life out of me. This is your favorite place to be. You like to have your hand around some innocent neck. That must be the demon in you," she said. Preston stayed still for a minute, still glaring at her angrily before closing his eyes and letting her go. He heard her feet hit the ground softly before opening his eyes again. This time he found the room completely black. As he looked around, it didn't take long to notice that the only thing in the room was a mirror with a dim beam of light falling directly on it and nothing else. At least there was no Heather.

Preston slowly stepped up to the mirror, his heavy footsteps making absolutely no noise at all. The mirror looked exactly like the one that he and his cousins had seen their evil counterparts in. When he was only inches away, he took a deep breath and looked up into the glass. Preston gasped at what he saw.

In his reflection, there was no Preston at all, evil, good, or otherwise. Instead there was a demon. He was tall and muscular with a bald head and two rows of sharp, pointy teeth. Perhaps the most striking thing about him though was his markings. They were tribal, much like Belthazor's. They were black, which seemed to be a standard color for demons of this type, but they were also an electric blue that made him both noticeable and intimidating. But the thing that Preston couldn't look away from was the eyes, for they weren't the eyes of a demon. They were the eyes of himself. This demon, whatever his name may be, was Preston without a doubt. Preston turned his back to the mirror, unable to look at the demon any longer. But when he did, he found himself face to face with the real thing.

"Who are you?" Preston asked.

"You," the demon answered, his voice deep and strong.

"No, what's your name?" Preston clarified.

"Drakaar." Preston felt a strange connection to the demon. It was almost like the feeling someone would get if they had never seen their parents before and suddenly came face to face with them and knew, without words or confirmation, that these were their parents. This demon, Drakaar, was a part of him, whether he liked it or not. Without warning, Patience, Parker, and Percy suddenly appeared.

"Come on Preston, we've got to get out of here!" Patience urged. Drakaar growled and threw an energy ball at her. She yelped and dodged it.

"What are you doing with this demon?" Percy asked. This time Drakaar aimed his energy ball at her and this time it hit its mark.

"Percy!" Parker yelled, running to her. As the three of them exchanged blows with the demon, Preston stayed motionless.

"Come on Preston, kill them. I know you want to," Heather whispered in his ear. "It's okay to give in to the evil." Preston looked on as Percy took another energy ball to the shoulder just as she launched her own fireball at him. He roared angrily as it hit him in the stomach. "Do it Preston. Finish it. You can take them out and turn to evil and never look back. It'll be so much easier. You won't have to worry about the war or anything. It's not that hard. Just do it." Preston looked down at the palm of his hand and watched as something formed there that never had before. The energy ball crackled with excitement as though pleading to hit something. It made him feel a power that he never had before. He looked back up his cousins and got ready to throw the energy ball. Percy looked up, locking eyes with him, pleading silently.

"Help me kill him!" she yelled. Then something snapped inside of him. He was brought back to the vision of he and his cousins fighting the warlock together when they were younger and the same pleading look in Percy's eyes when she had begged him to help her. Preston looked back at Heather and she shook her head, giving a small nod towards his cousins.

"You're evil," she whispered. Preston felt himself swell with anger.

"I _AM NOT_ EVIL!" he screamed, whipping around to throw the energy ball at Drakaar. It hit its mark perfectly. With a tremendous roar that shook the room, Drakaar exploded and a brilliant white light filled the room again.

xxxxx

Percy looked around the darkened alley that she was standing in and immediately recognized the dull brown bricks as the ones that adorned the outside of SF Valley High. She figured that this was the one between the school and they gymnasium complex. She also managed to notice, much to her dismay, that her twin had followed her here. This was just like the Elders to stick her in a dark alley that smelled like rubber and sweat next to a particularly annoying version of herself. Her thoughts of strangling the Elders quickly turned to curiosity, though as two people rounded the corner. Her first reaction was to try to hide her face because anyone who knew her would be very suspicious to see two of her standing there. She very obviously didn't have a twin and even though she looked like her mom, she didn't look _that_ much like her. Not to worry, though because the two people didn't even seem to notice either of them as they came closer.

Percy recognized these people as the both very deceased Jeff Hollingsworth and Tiffany Carlton. Great! Not only was she stuck in this smelly alleyway at her old high school with her annoying twin, but it wasn't even real. It was a flashback. A memory. Just her luck. Currently the two had stopped for a good snog up against the nearest wall, which just so happened to be inches away from Percy. She rolled her eyes and looked to her twin.

"Is there going to be a point to this anytime soon?" she asked impatiently. Her twin gave a knowing nod to the couple and Percy turned her head just in time to see Tiffany change into a tall, bumpy, fairly ugly red demon that looked very unlike the former cheerleader and Winter Formal Snow Queen of Sophomore year. Percy's first reaction to this was to form a fireball, but she found that she couldn't. Not that it mattered anyways because the demon managed to throw poor Jeff right through her. She wasn't done yet, either. She reached a bony red hand through Percy's left foot and pulled Jeff up by the neck before using the other hand to reach around his head, grab hold of his hair, and twist. Percy wretched at the sound that came from Jeff's neck, which had almost been twisted clean off. If her incorporeal stomach hadn't been completely empty of all acids, she would have vomited all over the already disgusting alley. As it were, a new sound brought her reluctant attention back to the scene at hand.

Patience was now hurtling around the corner as well, Kyle hot on her tail. She looked from Jeff's body, which was now lying limp and lifeless on the ground, his fading green eyes staring emptily into the afternoon sky, to the demon, which had suddenly turned back into Tiffany without Percy even realizing it. The guilt and sadness in Patience's stormy blue eyes was quickly pushed aside to be replaced with immense anger and hate.

"Stupid witch! I knew you'd catch me in the act sooner or later. That's why I hate witches so much. They're always sticking their noses where they don't belong. I guess I'll have to kill you and the boy," Tiff said. Raging flames flared in Patience's eyes and she pulled back to punch Tiffany squarely in the face, causing the demon to stumble backwards.

"My nose," Patience growled, punching her again, "will always be," another hard hook, "where people," now she opted for a kick to the stomach, "are hurting my friends!" She finished with a roundhouse kick to the demon's head, knocking her flat on her ass. "Show me your true face, you bastard!" Tiff grinned evilly and stood up, transforming back into the demon she, or he rather, had just been.

"You won't be able to kill me on your own, Archer. It takes four to complete the circle," he reminded her.

"Well four just got a lot smaller today," Patience said. Her eyes were now their swirled blue color and Percy could tell that she was getting ready to do a spell. "The life you've stolen return it now, to the earth where it was made. Your secret has finally been found and from this earth you shall fade." Percy felt a sense of pride towards her cousin as the demon withered away to nothing, but it soon turned to concern as she suddenly fell to the floor, sobbing over the dead body. She had heard about this incident, obviously. She was there with Patience at Jeff's funeral, but her cousin had been strong about it. But seeing it now, she realized just how hard this had been on Patience. Now that she thought about it, Percy realized that Patience and Jeff had been pretty good friends since they were in the same class in 2nd grade. She turned to her guide. The fact that she didn't look hurt or concerned to see Patience that sad angered her.

"Take me back," she ordered. Her twin grinned.

"Can't take it already?" she asked. Percy glared.

"Take me back," she repeated through gritted teeth. The alleyway dissolved around them and they appeared not back in white room like Percy had hoped, but in the Halliwell/Wyatt manor where the whole family, including Kyle and Leah, was eating dinner. Percy frowned as she scanned the faces. She didn't remember this. This was definitely something she would remember. Everyone looked so happy. "What is this? This never happened."

"Oh it happened. There's only one person in this room who actually remembers it though. As far as all of you are concerned, it didn't. As far as Preston's concerned… it was a nightmare he'll never forget." Before she could ask why, Percy saw the demon that shimmered into the room. No one at the table noticed and she was about to call out to them when she remembered that it wouldn't help. The table was blown apart as the demon's energy ball crashed into it, sending the dinner guests flying backwards.

Preston was the first one up as he started launching his own energy balls around blindly, giving Piper time to try to blow the demon up. Unfortunately, it had no effect. It took an orbed knife from Percy's mother to put the demon off and with one last energy ball, he shimmered out. The scene that unfolded around Percy next was tragic. At first, she didn't even realize what was happening. It wasn't until she moved around the table to see Preston trying fruitlessly to perform CPR on an unconscious Cole that it dawned on her. Her stomach turned over and her heart squeezed inside of her as she examined the bloody burn mark on Cole's abdomen. Tears stung at her eyes as she listened to a grief stricken Preston yell at Leah.

"You promised!" he screamed. "You promised nothing would happen! You said I wouldn't let it!" Leah could only reply with silent tears. Percy could feel the pain swell in the room like hot steam, suffocating them all as both Phoebe and Preston's sobs rang out like hollow, mourning bells through a gray morning sky. Before anything else could be said, Percy found herself back in the white room.

"What was that? What happened?" she asked, quickly wiping the tears from her eyes so as not to show her weakness.

"That was what originally happened. Cole had recently been stripped of his powers and Belthazor, which was why he was able to be killed at all. Right after that scene we just witnessed, you helped Preston go back in time to the past to fix this problem, back before Belthazor was vanquished. All that occurred after is what you remember," her twin explained.

"I can't believe Preston had to see his dad die," Percy whispered sadly.

"Yeah. Preston had to see someone he cared about die. Patience had to see someone she cared about die. And Parker… well that's one we haven't seen yet. Shall we?" Without waiting for an answer, the room swirled around them and the two were now in a church. Percy already knew what was going to happen. All the key characters were present, except for Kelsey. Parker and Alex stood at a standoff reminiscent of a very bad Western. She could almost hear the wind whistle through the otherwise deserted church. It took Percy a few moments to realize that the scene was frozen. She looked questioningly at her twin, who smiled innocently.

"Just get it over with," Percy ordered. Her twin nodded and the scene unfroze.

"You're the one. You're the one who shot Kelsey in my dream," Parker said.

"Good job Parker, you really are as smart as they say," Alex sneered. Percy couldn't believe that they were having a conversation while Alex had a gun pointed at Parker's head- a gun that he intended to use.

"Why?" Parker asked. "I thought you were good." Alex looked slightly more psychotic than usual now.

"Oh I was. I was the best kid in the world, but that never mattered to you… _Dad_," he spat.

"What?" Parker asked in bewilderment. The look of shock on his face would have been priceless had it not been such a serious situation. Percy too was almost shocked at this revelation, even though she already knew about this. To see it all unfold was… well it was horrible, but it also many other things that Percy didn't care to feel.

"Yeah, I'm your son and I spent my whole life just trying to get your approval, just once. But that never mattered to you. You acted like you didn't even care, like you didn't even know me because you didn't want Kelsey to find out about me," Alex ranted. Percy winced. Another thing Parker wasn't expecting.

"Wait, you're not hers?" he asked.

"Nope. I had to spend my whole life wondering what was wrong with _me_ all because you couldn't keep it in your pants. You cheated on her, your wonderful wife. You got drunk and found some hot chick and screwed the almighty hell out of her, but you wanted nothing to do with the after math," Alex yelled. Percy felt the strong urge to punch him in the face numerous times by now. She listened as Alex explained that he was sent to kill Kelsey, to ruin Parker and to ruin the Archers. By who, he wouldn't say.

"You know that killing me will make you cease to exist," Parker pointed out. Alex shook his head.

"Oh I really don't care, as long as you're dead," he said venomously. Percy looked at him in horror as he raised the gun. How could he hate Parker so much that he would be willing to let himself die just to make sure he was dead? It wasn't logical. Parker squeezed his eyes shut as Alex's hand slowly pulled at the trigger. Percy followed suit. She couldn't watch this. The shot that rang out next seemed to pierce her eardrum and her heart all at the same time. When she opened her eyes, Parker was still standing. Kelsey was dead at his feet. The rage that covered Parker's features was instant and scary. Without any effort, he crated a tornado that launched Alex across the room.

"You bastard!" he screamed. "You killed her! I'm going to fucking destroy you!" He ran to Alex and landed a punch on his face. Percy winced as he did it again, and again until there was no sound but the continuous connection of Parker's fist with Alex's face. Finally, after what seemed like forever, it stopped. Alex's face was barely recognizable by now.

"Looks like I've done my job after all. Have fun with your new future, Dad. You'll die in the end anyways," he choked out painfully. With his last breath, Alex disappeared. Parker got up shakily and walked over to Kelsey, kneeling beside her. With no one there to hear him, he cried harder than Percy thought it was possible for anyone to cry. And because she couldn't help it, she cried with him. After a long time, Parker closed Kelsey's eyes and kissed her forehead gently.

"Goodbye baby," he whispered sadly. The scene disappeared in front of her and Percy and her twin were back in the dreaded white room. Percy spun around to look at her counterpart, her sadness now turned to anger.

"Why are you showing me this?" she yelled, angry tears spilling down her pale face.

"Because you need to see," her twin said simply.

"See what? See my cousins in pain? Watch my family fall apart over things that have already happened?"

"You need to see that you've dealt with nothing compared to them. They've dealt with death and loss and falling apart and you, you've dealt with none of that. You've had it easy. Everything's just been given to you," her twin said.

"That's not my fault!" Percy said defensively. "I can't help the fact that they died!"

"And where were you when they did? Off screwing Atli somewhere?" her twin accused.

"You shut your mouth!" Percy screamed.

"Why? Because I'm right? You don't give a damn about any of it, as long as you don't have to deal with the pain at the end of the day!"

"Don't you dare sit there and tell me I don't care about my cousins! I love them!" Percy argued.

"Then where were you when Patience was possessed? Where were you when she had to take on Fashkoff all by herself? She's supposed to be your best friend? Yeah right! And what about Parker? You let him try to defend Kelsey against an unknown killer all by himself! And Preston, you can't even stand him," her twin yelled. Fresh tears of frustration flowed down Percy's face. She was losing this battle, this battle for her sanity. And rightfully so. Her alter ego had a point. Everything she said was right. She was weak. She'd been through nothing. Except watching her friend die when she was younger, and always being so helpless when it came to helping her cousins. Percy's eyes hardened and she looked at her twin fiercely.

"I've dealt with pain. I've dealt with demons and death all my life. But I've dealt with something worse than that. I've dealt with the pain that my cousins and family suffered combined. I've watched them fall to pieces and each time a part of them dies, a part of me dies too. I am them. We are one. Whenever one cries, we all cry. Maybe I haven't suffered these things personally, but I've had to watch as the others have, knowing that there's nothing I can do or say to make any of it better. Yes, Patience is my best friend. And maybe I wasn't there when Jeff died, or when Kelsey died, or when Preston went through all the mess with his dad, but I was there for the aftermath _every_ time. So I think, no matter what you say, that counts for something," she said. By now she was out of breath. She expected another retort from her twin, but only received a small smile before she disappeared into thin air. And then came that horrible feeling of being pulled of her feet again.

xxxxx

"Damnit! If I have to fall on my ass one more time I'm going to vanquish every Elder that ever existed!" Percy bolted upright at the sound of Patience's voice. She threw herself at her cousins, who appeared to have just come from their last tasks as well. They were still in the white room and none of them were sure why it was necessary to pick them up just to move them to the same place they just came from. A cloud of orbs appeared in front of them.

"Congratulations," Oden said cheerfully. "You've successfully completed all of your tasks. You may now receive your Whitelighter."

"This better be the best damn Whitelighter to ever be dead and revived as a magical being or I will be more pissed off than you really want to see me," Preston said angrily. Oden simply held his hand out and another cloud of orbs appeared, revealing their Whitelighter. The person in front of them was the last person they expected. Preston gaped open mouthed.

"What?" Patience whispered. Percy gasped.

"Oh my god."

**Wow, so I seriously thought that was never going to end. And I know, I'm the worst for the cliffhanger, especially in the first chapter. But what did you expect? I had to come back right! Well don't be shy dearies! Let Laur and I know what you think! Review! Not sure when the next chapter will be up, but please don't get hopeless if it takes a while. Till next time!**

**Aut**


	4. Clueless in San Francisco

**Okay guys, Laur and I are back with chapter two and we're hoping that you like it. Sorry it took so long, but a certain Scottish chick never got back to me... Lol, we love you Laur. We're finally revealing the big secret (dun dun dun!) Who is the new Whitelighter? You've probably already guessed it, and if you haven't, then I'm sure you'll be kicking yourself for not guessing it once you find out who it is! Okay, so without further ado… (P.S. This chapter title is my worthless attempt at a play on the movie Sleepless in Seattle)**

**Carry on the Heritage: The Next Generation of Halliwells**

**Chapter Two: Clueless in San Francisco**

"Oh my god!" Percy repeated, a little louder this time. She couldn't believe it. None of them could. It had to be a trick, a glamour, a sick joke that the Elders were playing on them. But no, there was no mistaking it. The soft brown eyes, the warm friendly smile, the long brown hair, the gorgeous features. Though very unexpectedly, this person was most certainly…

"Kelsey," Preston choked out. She smiled politely at him, but there was a hint of confusion in her eyes.

"I can't believe it's you," Patience whispered. At the same time, all three of them looked at the one person who had yet to say anything. They expected him to be yelling, screaming, crying, laughing, hell even puking would do; anything but just sitting there completely unfazed by this and extremely confused.

"Have you guys met?" Parker asked curiously. His cousins gawked at him.

"What? Are you kidding me? Did you really just ask that?" Percy asked, completely dumbfounded by this display of what she hoped was denial. The expression on his face told her that he was absolutely serious though and a glance at Kelsey told her that she had no idea what was going on either. It was as if both of their memories had completely been erased of any knowledge of each other's existence.

"Oden," Patience growled. "We'd like to speak to you in private please… now!" The four of them exited the white room, leaving Kelsey and Parker in an awkward silence by themselves. "What did you do?" Patience demanded as soon as the huge oak doors had creaked shut.

"We did only what was necessary to make sure that everything went smoothly," Oden replied. Though he managed to keep a calm façade, it was hard even for him not to crack under Patience's fiery glare.

"You call _this_ smooth? Parker and Kelsey don't even know each other!" Percy exploded, causing several other Elders and Whitelighters to glance disapprovingly in their direction.

"Exactly. Did you think that we could just have those two working together after all that happened? It would jeopardize everything!" Oden countered.

"You do realize that Kelsey is the love of his life, right? She is the one person that he felt so strongly about that he killed his own son to avenge her death. Can you even begin to grasp that concept?" Patience asked furiously.

"Yes, I can and that is exactly why this had to be done. You must understand that we wouldn't have done this if we didn't think it were crucial to everything that the four of you must do. Kelsey has been training for this assignment since the day she died. She is fully prepared. Do you honestly think that she would be able to do this if she had all of her memories?" Oden asked.

"You people are fucking ridiculous!" Preston boomed.

"That is quite enough! Now, do not make me regret my decision to exclude the three of you from the memory spell. I expect you to be reasonable and mature enough to handle this situation. We all know that memory spells are delicate and should you do or say anything to purposely provoke their memories to return, Kelsey will be reassigned and you will receive a new Whitelighter. Do you understand?"

"Perfectly," Patience snarled as she ripped the doors open. "And don't worry, we won't have to say anything. Your stupid little plan will fall apart all on its own."

"What about the anointing ceremony?" Oden called after them.

"Screw the ceremony, we've already completed your tests. We're anointed enough," Preston replied.

"Is everything okay guys?" Parker asked in concern as the three of them stormed back into the white room, leaving Oden on the outside.

"It's fine," Percy lied. "Come on, let's go see our parents." Just as they were about to orb out, Parker looked back at Kelsey.

"You're welcome to come with," he offered. Kelsey smiled.

"That's okay, I have to make rounds and check to make sure that all of the soldiers got in okay. You guys might want to grab your stuff while you're there. You have to move into your new homes soon," she reminded them. They nodded and left for home.

xxxxx

Piper Halliwell took a long sip from her coffee and blinked her eyes to try to get some of the moisture back into them. She had slept a total of about five hours over the last three days and she was pretty sure that if she didn't get some substantial sleep soon, she would go insane. But it was no use trying to do that when she was this worried. Her son and his cousins had gone 'Up There' three days ago, and hadn't come back yet. They wouldn't answer her calls, Leo and Paige couldn't get a read on them, and the Elders wouldn't tell them anything. So as far as Piper was concerned, she had a reason to be worried. She didn't even look up when she heard the sound of orbs fill the room. It was probably just Leo or Paige and not that she didn't love them or anything, but they weren't who she wanted to see.

"Hey Mom! God, you look terrible. Is everything okay?" Piper's head snapped up and she winced at the instant headache that formed from it. But she didn't mind because standing in front of her was Parker, Preston, Patience, and Percy. She hurried over and threw her arms around Parker's neck, smothering him with kisses.

"I'm so glad you're back! We were worried sick," she said, on the verge of tears.

"We've only been gone for a few hours, Aunt Piper," Patience said, stumbling backwards a little as Piper gave her a hug as well.

"A few hours? You've been gone for three days! The Elders wouldn't tell us anything, just that you were in their hands, which, coming from the Elders can mean any damn thing," Piper told them.

"Three days!" Percy exclaimed, a look of pure annoyance on her face that was so reminiscent of Paige it was scary. Before anything else could be said though, Phoebe's head popped out from around the corner.

"Preston? Preston, you're back!" she exclaimed.

"On no," Preston mumbled, bracing himself for another bone breaking hug.

"Preston?" a voice called from the living room. "Are the kids here?" Within seconds, Prue and Paige were rushing into the kitchen.

"Patience," Prue said happily, giving her a warm smile and a hug.

"Hey," Patience said unenthusiastically, stiffening a little. Prue gave her a confused look.

"Are you guys okay?" she asked cautiously.

"Yeah, fine," Patience replied coldly, averting her eyes. Prue frowned, wondering what she'd done, but shrugged it off for now. Who knew what they'd gone through 'Up There'.

"What have you guys been doing?" Phoebe asked, still not letting got of her son.

"Well, we had to be assigned our very own Whitelighter, but we had to prove that we deserved it first. Apparently saving people's lives everyday just doesn't cut it anymore," Percy said bitterly.

"What do you mean?" Paige asked.

"You guys had better sit down, this one's gonna piss you off a little," Preston warned. After the four of them had been seated, the Archers got to explaining the three tasks. This took quite a while due to the constant interjections of profanity from the Charmed Ones, and they had to keep restarting as Leo, Cole, Frisco, and Andy showed up one by one and were all very happy to see their children as well. Mysteriously enough, none of them couldn't exactly remember what happened during the third task, though Parker was the only one being sincere about it. When they were finally finished, there was only one question to be asked…

"What the _hell_ is wrong with the Elders?" Piper asked angrily.

"So who's-" Leo got nowhere near finishing his question, because a geyser of water hit him in the face. Everyone turned to Patience, who' cheeks very pink.

"Oops, sorry! A little jumpy I guess," she said apologetically. Leo coughed and looked up angrily, a little less than pleased with the situation.

"Uh, Parker, how about you go get him some towels," Percy suggested. Parker nodded, glaring at Patience on the way out. "That was spectacular way to handle the situation!" Percy burst as soon as he'd left.

"Well I had to do something, and it got him out of the room, didn't it?" Patience pointed out.

"What are you guys talking about?" Prue asked suspiciously. Percy and Patience sighed.

"We have a problem," they said together.

"That's an understatement," Preston said.

"Kelsey is our new Whitelighter," Percy said sadly.

"What? That's great!" Phoebe said excitedly. Patience, Percy, and Preston all had a look of foreboding on their faces. "That's not great?"

"The Elders pulled a disappearing act on Parker and Kelsey's memories. Parker remembers nothing about Kelsey and Kelsey doesn't know that she ever knew any of us," Patience explained. The look of furiousness that suddenly came across Piper's features was almost terrifying.

"Paige," she said in a quiet, dangerous voice. "Orb me 'Up There' right now."

"Piper-" Prue started.

"Paige!" Piper yelled. Paige grasped Piper's arm in fear.

"No Aunt Piper, you can't!" Percy protested.

"Why the hell not?" Piper screamed. "I'll be goddamned if I'm going to let some _Whitelighters_ with overactive egos erase my son's memory! Not after everything he's been through, no way!"

"Piper, believe me, we know how you feel. We've already discussed it with the Elders though and they said that if we do or say anything to make either of them remember, then Kelsey will be reassigned and the two of them will be forced to remember it all but never see each other again. We can't do that to Parker, and I'm not even sure that we'd want to let them remember anyways," Patience said.

"Why not?" Piper asked, still breathing heavily.

"Because while they may be assholes, they do have power and they will do what they say they're going to. And besides, having them remember might put them through more pain than having them forget. Can you imagine those two having to work together after all of that? It would be torture for both of them, Parker especially. How can he ever be expected to face Kelsey after everything that's happened, after his own son that he didn't even have with her came back and killed her? It would be excruciating for them both and I personally don't want to see him hurt like that again. Now believe me, I'm not a fan of this destiny system, but if those two are meant to be together, then they will be, memory spell or not. Even the Elders can't beat fate and they certainly can't beat love. You of all people should know that," Preston pointed out. There was a long moment of silence where only the hot and heavy breathing of Piper could be heard as she contemplated all of this. Paige still had her hand firmly grasped around Piper's arm and her nails were starting to dig in.

"Hey Dad, I found some towels. Sorry it took so long, but I couldn't find any in the linen closet, so I had to check in the attic," Parker's voice broke through. He stopped and looked around curiously at the scene. His cousins were standing close to one another and Paige and his mom were standing about two feet away from them. His mom looked very angry and the rest of the room looked a little scared.

"Thanks, Parker," Leo finally said, taking the small green cloth from him.

"Is everything okay?" Parker asked. No one said anything, but all heads turned towards Piper. She stood there for a few seconds before answering.

"Yeah, honey. Everything's fine," she lied, turning to give him a false smile. Parker looked at her skeptically.

"Oh gosh! I just remembered that I have to go see Atli!" Percy burst out suddenly.

"Oh, you're right! I have to go see Kyle. Will you give me a lift?" Patience asked. Percy raised her eyebrow.

"Uh, squishy, water power now, remember?" she reminded her cousin.

"Oh yeah… bye!" With that, Patience 'swished' out, with Percy flaming out right behind her.

"Yeah, I have to talk to Leah, too," Preston said. Just as he was about to 'crumble' out, he turned to Parker. "Did you want to go with?"

"No man, I'm okay. I think I'm gonna do what Kelsey said and go start packing my things to settle in at… what am I gonna call that place?" Parker asked, referring to his island. Preston shrugged.

"Maybe it already has a name. Kelsey might know," Preston suggested, receiving a glare from Piper.

"You're right. Anyways, I'm gonna go get settled in," Parker said, completely oblivious to the exchange going on between Preston and his mother.

"Okay, I'll see you later," Preston said.

"Yeah, see you."

"Bye honey," Phoebe said, giving Preston a tight squeeze. Preston grinned.

"Mom, it's okay. I promise I won't be gone for three days again this time," he assured her. Phoebe nodded, looking as though she might tear up at any moment.

"I know sweetie," she sniffed. Preston rolled his eyes and crumbled out. "Oh, they're growing up so fast."

"Wow, I'm going to pack now," Parker said, shaking his head as he walked out.

xxxxx

Preston hadn't even fully formed before he was being knocked backwards by something, or rather someone. His head cracked against the wall, sending an instant wash of pain over it. He was about to protest this attack, but then he looked up into the clear blue eyes that could only belong to his girlfriend. They were on the verge of tears and before anything could be said, Leah's lips were smashing into his. Someone cleared their throat behind them, but they ignored it.

"Um, excuse me for breaking this up, but the rest of us would rather not watch the two of you get busy on the living room floor." Preston pulled away from Leah for long enough to look over her shoulder. He raised an eyebrow when he saw who it was.

"What the hell are you doing here? I thought you were going to find Atli," he said. Percy grinned.

"I did!" she said. Atli came into view beside Percy and Preston managed to get Leah off of him so that he could stand up and look around. Blue couch, white carpet, matching walls… this was definitely not Leah's house.

"Where the hell are we?" Preston asked.

"My house," Kyle replied, coming in from the kitchen with some drinks, Patience practically attached to his hip.

"We were so worried about you guys the past three days that we just kind of stuck around each other," Leah explained. "I'm so glad to see you, by the way." Preston smiled.

"I'm glad to see you too, babe," he said, giving her another kiss. Now that he could finally see her, it did seem like forever since he'd last gotten the chance to.

"So now that you're all here, do you care to share what went on?" Atli asked. Percy sighed.

"Let's just say that you guys are gonna be shocked as hell when you see our new Whitelighter," she told them.

"Why, who is it?" Leah asked curiously. Preston, Percy, and Patience all turned to look at each other, as if trying to persuade each other to say it.

"Kelsey," they said at the same time. The other three's eyes seemed to pop out of their heads.

"What? How?" Kyle asked, being the first one to gather his wit. Patience shrugged.

"The only thing I can guess is that she earned her wings when she saved Parker's life," she said.

"Well how does Parker feel about this?" Leah asked in concern.

"He feels like he's never met Kelsey in his entire life," Preston replied.

"What do you mean?" Leah questioned, turning to face him.

"The Elders made them both forget everything that happened. They said that if they remembered, it would be worse and that if we did anything purposely to make them remember, then they'd reassign Kelsey and Parker would never be allowed to see her again," Percy explained. Atli's jaw clenched.

"Am I the only one here who wants to kill the Elders right now?" he asked. Everyone else in the room raised their hands. "Good, it's not just me then."

"So what are we gonna do?" Kyle asked.

"Just let them go. If they're meant to remember, then we know damn well that a little memory dust isn't going to stop them from doing it, with or without our help," Patience said.

"I hate this," Leah complained.

"You're not the only one, LC," Percy said. Preston looked down at his watch.

"We need to pack," he announced sullenly.

"Pack?" Kyle asked, looking worried. "For what?"

"We have to embark upon our destinies and part of that is living on those islands," Patience explained. Kyle groaned.

"You have to?" he asked. They nodded sadly.

"You can't come with us right away, but once we get settled in and have everything under control, you're more than welcome to come check it out. All you have to do is call for us, and we'll be there," Percy told them.

"Promise to keep in touch," Leah said, almost in an orderly tone. Preston nodded, his eyes showing honesty and regret for having to leave. They said their goodbyes and left to pack, leaving their boyfriends and girlfriend exactly as they had been found: sad and worried.

xxxxx

Parker sighed as he fitted his last shirt into the suitcase he had laying on his bed. He had already packed the rest of his belongings, from trinkets and books, to his toothbrush. He had saved his clothes for last. He looked around his room, the one that he had been in for all eighteen years of his life. This would be the last time it would ever belong to him again. He didn't know what his parents were planning to do with it once he had left. Piper would probably keep it as it was for a while before Leo finally persuaded her to change it into something useful. It would be strange not to sleep in it tonight, or any night for the first couple of weeks until he got used to his new home.

He looked down at the sheets and thought how nothing very interesting had happened in them, when suddenly something flashed through his mind. It was a flicker, like lightning across a heat-swelled sky in the summer time. He was going to pass it off as his imagination, but as he looked at his pillow, it happened again, slightly longer and more defined this time. _Darkness, heat, a sigh of pleasure_…

"Parker?" Parker's head snapped up and he looked around at his door. "Sweetie, are you in there?" It was his mother.

"Yeah, come in Mom," he called. The door opened slowly and Piper came in, cautiously.

"Wow, so you're all packed up, huh?" she commented, looking around his room. The sadness was evident in her eyes. She missed him already.

"Yeah," Parker said distractedly. Piper quirked an eyebrow.

"Are you okay?" she questioned. Parker was staring at his bed as if expecting it to grow a mouth and start talking. Even in the Halliwell household, that would be a little much. "Honey?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Just… memories," he lied. Piper nodded.

"Yeah, this house is full of them. Seems crazy that we've come this far," she said. The two of them sat on the bed in silence for a few minutes before Piper turned to her son, tears welling in the corner of her eyes. "Do you have to go?" She sounded almost like a little girl again, begging her father not to leave. Parker sighed.

"The Elders said," he answered.

"Yeah, but since when do we listen to them?" Piper asked, attempting a chuckle. Parker just looked at her, the sorrow mirrored in his eyes. Piper threw herself at him, holding him as tightly as she could. "Promise me you'll be careful. I can't lose you."

"I promise, Mom. I'll be okay," he assured her, trying his hardest to fight off his own tears. "Have Dad bring you over in a few days to visit."

"I will. I'll miss you, sweetie."

"I'll miss you too, Mom. I love you." Before it got too much more emotional, Parker left. He didn't go straight to his island, but to a deserted P4 instead. Something told him that he should go there, and after about an hour and a half of waiting, his cousins joined him one by one, Percy coming in last.

"Are we ready for this?" Percy asked after minutes of silence. She had voiced the question that all of them had been wanting to ask.

"We'll be ready. We have to be," Patience answered.

"Dinner at my place tonight?" Preston asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"God, is that all you ever think about?" Percy asked. Preston grinned.

"Well, if you must know…"

"Ew, gross! I don't want to know what goes through your head!" Percy squealed. Good as it was for taking their minds off of the situation at hand for a few seconds, the room was suddenly encased in silence again.

"Well, I guess we should get going then," Parker suggested. The others nodded and left the club to start a new part of their lives.

xxxxx

Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige all sat on the couch in the living room of Piper's house- a house that used to belong to them all. They had a feeling of emptiness in their hearts, as though they'd all lost something dear. They sat there for comfort, remembering back to that first day that had started it all, that day when they were attacked by Largos. It seemed so very far off, yet it was so fresh in their minds as though it were only yesterday.

"It's not like we'll never see them again," Prue pointed out, trying to make them all feel better.

"It feels like we'll never see them again," Phoebe pouted.

"We can visit, though, right. I mean, it's not like they're isolated from the rest of the world," Paige offered.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they were, knowing the Elders. I can't believe they did that to Parker and Kelsey! As if they hadn't already been through enough," Piper fumed.

"It'll be okay, Piper. Everything will work itself out," Phoebe assured her.

"You're always so worry free, Pheebs. I wish I could be like that," Piper commented.

"You just have to believe that everything happens for a reason and that magic knows how to right itself when things have gone wrong. It's never failed in the past," Phoebe told her. The others nodded in agreement. None of them had noticed the warlock that had shimmered in behind them. He launched a fireball at Paige, but it missed and hit the arm of the couch instead. Paige jumped up and turned to face the warlock, the others so as well. Piper made to blow him up, but he dodged the blow. He couldn't, however, stop Prue from flinging him halfway across the room and into the wall. He gave them one last look before shimmering out.

"What in the hell was that about?" Piper asked.

"I think that was just your everyday average warlock," Paige said, checking her arm where the fireball had scorched her a little.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Phoebe asked, looking over it for her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. My sweater took most of the hit, unfortunately. I'll never be able to wear this again," Paige said bitterly.

"You can buy a new one at the store. On the other hand, you can't find extra arms in the dress department in Learner," Prue reminded her.

"Do you think we should call the kids?" Piper asked, referring to the demon crisis.

"No, they just left! God, you act like you're an eighty-year-old woman who needs to call her son to change a light bulb. We're doing this the old fashioned way, with a map, a crystal, and the Book of Shadows," Prue said.

"It looks like a little bit of his robe got snagged on this key hook when you threw him, Prue," Phoebe commented, bringing it over to show them.

"Perfect! Let's get started," Paige suggested.

xxxxx

About an hour later, they were ready to go after him. The crystal had pointed them to an old warehouse down by the docks and they had identified him using the book easily. They had a potion ready and everything. Paige orbed them all out and they appeared where they were supposed to be. As promised, their warlock was there. Unfortunately, so were six others.

"Okay, this wasn't part of the deal," Paige said as they looked around at them all. The warlocks looked up in surprise.

"A minor setback, but nothing we can't handle," Prue promised.

"You," the warlock hissed, forming a fireball in his hand.

"Us," Paige agreed smugly, throwing the potion at him. It was only a matter of seconds after he burst into flames before the others were launching their own fireballs at them. Piper dodged one and blew up its sender, turning quickly to attack another. Phoebe was in hand to hand with one and she currently had him on the floor. He was quick, though, and swept her feet out from under her. She cried out for help as he towered over her, an evil grin on his face and an athame in hand. Paige, who had just finished orbing a fireball back at her warlock, orbed a rusted metal bar that had been sitting unused in a corner into his chest.

"Thanks," Phoebe said gratefully as her sister helped her up. Just as a warlock was about to launch a fireball at Prue, she astral projected behind him, confusing him long enough to let Piper blow him up just after finishing off her third warlock. Prue grinned at her before returning back to her body.

"That was kick ass!" she said excitedly. "The Power of Four still has it!"

"Yes, exciting," Piper said sarcastically. Paige rolled her eyes and orbed the four of them home, flopping down on the couch.

"We're getting too damn old for this."

**Gasp! Kelsey's back! Yay! I never would have guessed… I told you it wasn't the end for our favorite couple. Unfortunately, we have a little roadblock here. Hm… Anyways, just wanted to put a little kick ass by the Charmed Ones in here, show that they're still working it when it comes to demons. So we'll leave you with that and get started on the next chapter, but remember that this story can't live without your reviews to feed on! So start cooking and we'll get back to you. By the by, for those of you who read it (and for those of you who didn't, because you should have) Laur has finally posted the sequel to _A Life of Magic: The Third Child Prophecy_, called _A Life of Magic: Will It Set Them Free?_, so all of you need to go to The-Cheese-Fairy's profile page and check it out if you haven't already. For those of you new to the series, you'll have to read the first one before you can skip to the sequel. I know, I know, damn us and our ongoing series! Til next time…**

**Aut**


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